Potholes!

Author
Discussion

Ozone

Original Poster:

3,050 posts

192 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Hit a pothole a couple of nights ago and ruined a tyre. It was dark and i didn't see the hole, but it's the first time i've had an instant deflation.

To compound the problem i couldn't undo any of the wheel nuts to put the spare on. The rescue people broke a long SnapOn bar trying to undo them but got them undone evntually.

The next day we put a claim in with the council online and went to take some photos of the hole, only to find someone else doing exactly the same, as the same thing had happened to them the night before! Went to the tyre fitters and got talking to a bloke who had also got a blown tyre from the same hole!

It turned out that it was a series of holes about 20 feet long with one deep one - about 5 inches - at the end in the normal wheel track near the middle of the road

I'm just glad i didn't need a wheel replacement like the person also photographing the site.

I'm now waiting for the council response mad

Big Rod

6,228 posts

221 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Hit one on the M74 a couple of weeks back in the Shogun which got me some air.

If I'd hit it in a normal car I've no doubt it would have ripped the guts right out from underneath it.

I'm wondering how many accidents/claims it's caused.

EDLT

15,421 posts

211 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
They'll start filling them in in March, when they need to use up the rest of their budget.

Dr Doofenshmirtz

15,577 posts

205 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Big Rod said:
Hit one on the M74 a couple of weeks back in the Shogun which got me some air.

If I'd hit it in a normal car I've no doubt it would have ripped the guts right out from underneath it.

I'm wondering how many accidents/claims it's caused.
If a biker hit that...well, it doesn't bear thinking about.

Some of the potholes around my area (Bucks/Oxon) are shocking, and have been there for weeks!
The council should be ashamed.

Ozone

Original Poster:

3,050 posts

192 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
Some of the potholes around my area (Bucks/Oxon) are shocking, and have been there for weeks!
Yes, Oxfordshire is quite bad. This happened in Warwickshire who are usually pretty good.

750turbo

6,164 posts

229 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Big Rod said:
Hit one on the M74 a couple of weeks back in the Shogun which got me some air.

If I'd hit it in a normal car I've no doubt it would have ripped the guts right out from underneath it.

I'm wondering how many accidents/claims it's caused.
Think I heard on the news that a pothole on the M74 had caused a 10 car accident this morning, not good.

BoRED S2upid

20,170 posts

245 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
750turbo said:
Big Rod said:
Hit one on the M74 a couple of weeks back in the Shogun which got me some air.

If I'd hit it in a normal car I've no doubt it would have ripped the guts right out from underneath it.

I'm wondering how many accidents/claims it's caused.
Think I heard on the news that a pothole on the M74 had caused a 10 car accident this morning, not good.
Just imagine the insurance claims against the council for that, cheaper to get a few cones and a bit of tarmac you would think.

hombrepaulo

1,192 posts

176 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Got loads round here too (dorset/hampshire)
I`ve taken to reporting one a day on the relevant councils website. If enough of us did this maybe they might get the message.

Biggriff

2,312 posts

289 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Councils will resist claims vigorously I have now been told by friend in charge of traffic management for a big city council.

Good news in some way is once the Police put the cause of any accident down as road condition the local autority will get sued (he stressed it has to be the major factor not an influencing one). Shame people have to get injured or die so some berk does his job properly.


Moogle

257 posts

175 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
This is always what narks me (this isn't aimed at you), that wouldn't be an excuse for us if we had to defend a problem on our vehicle to the Police would it?!

Sure the law states that we are responsible for checking our vehicle to make sure it's safe but surely they have a responsibility to make sure 'their' roads (which WE pay for!) are in a minimum of a safe condition.

I've said this to others, one day someone on a motor/peddle bike or a pedestrian is going to end up in a box permanently because of a pothole and they can just turn around and say "meh, we didn't know! We cool?".

edition

963 posts

195 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Just found that report site. Seems a good idea if the council reads them and takes action.

Have just reported a fair few huge potholes, so will see if they get fixed!

Ozone

Original Poster:

3,050 posts

192 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thanks, went straight on the potholes.co.uk site the next morning to follow their recommendations.

It is pretty difficult to measure potholes on a busy road, i had to keep running out with the tape measure and try and take a steady photo in between the traffic eeksilly

1

2,732 posts

241 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
EDLT said:
They'll start filling them in in March, when they need to use up the rest of their budget.
They start filling them in March as we are normally the other side of the freezing temperatures and there isn't much point in filling them before then. Its a problem that is only going to get worse unless we adapt the techniques we use, unfortunately they requires fore thought and planning.

anonymous-user

59 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Here we go again...

My annual stock response (although beaten to it by Isaac above)

Report them. Local authorities have a "report" function on their websites. If they don't know about it, how can they fill it in? You may drive past it every day, but if the Council inspectors don't pass it, and nobody reports it, then surprise surprise they get left.

In my experience, once reported they are (for the most part) filled in in a timely manner. It costs the Council a lot less to repair the pothole than to keep paying out £500 claims for apparent damage to Corsa wheels etc.

It's not the fault of the Council that potholes appear - it is a function of the bad weather. On this front, I think they do bloody well.

anonymous-user

59 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
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DP gayness

Edited by Opulent on Tuesday 11th January 14:39

anonymous-user

59 months

Tuesday 11th January 2011
quotequote all
Moogle said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
This is always what narks me (this isn't aimed at you), that wouldn't be an excuse for us if we had to defend a problem on our vehicle to the Police would it?!

Sure the law states that we are responsible for checking our vehicle to make sure it's safe but surely they have a responsibility to make sure 'their' roads (which WE pay for!) are in a minimum of a safe condition.

I've said this to others, one day someone on a motor/peddle bike or a pedestrian is going to end up in a box permanently because of a pothole and they can just turn around and say "meh, we didn't know! We cool?".
So the driver should be held liable for, say, a blowout at 70mph which causes his car to swerve, hit another car, and kill a kid? Is that the driver's fault for not checking his tyres - even if they are legal? Do you check the inside wall for bulges before every journey? Thought not. Probably once every six months. Same as the council inspectors.

Should cars just steam down the road regardless of what is in the carriageway? One drives to the conditions. If a road is a 40mph limit, yet covered in ice, do you drive it at 40mph? Nope, you use common sense and drive the road accordingly. If you see a pothole, you can always slow down to give yourself more time to avoid it. I admit this isn't possible in every single case, but realistically, most people drive the same route between Mon-Fri, so shouldn't be as much of a problem, n'est pas?

You are talking about a freak type of accident. Of course, why not sue, may as well join in this stupid compo culture we have, which will push up council tax rates etc, and then it can be moaned about even more...


Moogle

257 posts

175 months

Wednesday 12th January 2011
quotequote all
Opulent said:
Moogle said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
This is always what narks me (this isn't aimed at you), that wouldn't be an excuse for us if we had to defend a problem on our vehicle to the Police would it?!

Sure the law states that we are responsible for checking our vehicle to make sure it's safe but surely they have a responsibility to make sure 'their' roads (which WE pay for!) are in a minimum of a safe condition.

I've said this to others, one day someone on a motor/peddle bike or a pedestrian is going to end up in a box permanently because of a pothole and they can just turn around and say "meh, we didn't know! We cool?".
So the driver should be held liable for, say, a blowout at 70mph which causes his car to swerve, hit another car, and kill a kid? Is that the driver's fault for not checking his tyres - even if they are legal? Do you check the inside wall for bulges before every journey? Thought not. Probably once every six months. Same as the council inspectors.

Should cars just steam down the road regardless of what is in the carriageway? One drives to the conditions. If a road is a 40mph limit, yet covered in ice, do you drive it at 40mph? Nope, you use common sense and drive the road accordingly. If you see a pothole, you can always slow down to give yourself more time to avoid it. I admit this isn't possible in every single case, but realistically, most people drive the same route between Mon-Fri, so shouldn't be as much of a problem, n'est pas?

You are talking about a freak type of accident. Of course, why not sue, may as well join in this stupid compo culture we have, which will push up council tax rates etc, and then it can be moaned about even more...
Sure, you're absolutely right however, if I did have a blowout, swerve, hit another car and kill a kid, whilst I might not necessarily be liable my insurance will still have to pay out to ALL of those third parties.

I'm not saying that they should HAVE to the know the changing conditions every second of every inch of every road they cover, I'm just saying they should still have to pay out as regardless, it's still their responsibility.

Do you understand what I am trying to say here?


attym3

7,259 posts

173 months

Wednesday 12th January 2011
quotequote all
Check these out!!

I'm sure if you hit these at any speed, you would do more than just tyre damage. The damaged stretch of road is about 1/2mile.
I won't be using it again.





Mark

anonymous-user

59 months

Wednesday 12th January 2011
quotequote all
^^ That is simply atrocious. Is it public highway or private road?

Moogle, if these are the size of the potholes you're talking about, I'd say the Councils WOULD pay. They are a little bigger than the recent potholes that have popped up following the bad weather. I was referring to holes say 200x200mm, x no more than 50mm deep. Surfacing potholes. The holes above look like they have been there for a few months!

4Q

1,277 posts

192 months

Wednesday 12th January 2011
quotequote all
Biggriff said:
once the Police put the cause of any accident down as road condition the local autority will get sued
laugh

Fat chance of that!